President's Office says a bilateral, interagency counter-terrorism exercise named Tempest Wind 2022 was held from 07 to 17 August in the Greater Male’ area.

It said that Tempest Wind 22 was the eleventh iteration of the Tempest Wind series of military exercises, and it was the fourth time it was hosted in the Maldives.

These exercises are part of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s military-to-military engagement program and are conducted with nations throughout the Indo-Pacific region.

The President's Office said that several agencies of the Maldives, as well as the United States, participated in this exercise.

The experience gained during Tempest Wind 22 contributes to the ability to respond to terrorist incidents as well as crises across a range of military operations.

This exercise rehearsed Counter Terrorism (CT) strategy detailed in the Maldives’ National Terrorism Response Plan (NTRP), to enhance interoperability between Maldivian agencies and international partners in rapidly responding to crises.

This exercise was the first of its kind, assessing the whole government's response to crises, and enabling the better implementation of the NTRP.